Qatar Foundation’s WISE launches new cycle of WISE Prize for Education

WISE Prize for Education

The World Innovation Summit for Education (WISE), a global initiative of the Qatar Foundation, has announced a call for applications for WISE Prize for Education 2026-27 cycle to offer funding and technical support to innovative solutions that solve global education challenges.

The new cycle will select a number of finalists, with each receiving development funding from USD 100,000 to USD 125,000 and participating in an intensive 12-month mentorship and technical support program, WISE stated Monday (11 May).

It further said this cycle would finish at the WISE 13 Summit, which will take place in Doha in 2027, during which evidence-based solutions with clear potential to help real learning improvements will be awarded a total of USD 1 million by an international jury.

Priorities in the 2026-2027 cycle include promoting equal access to education for marginalized populations, ethical artificial intelligence use, improving foundational literacy and numeracy skills and addressing learners' psychological and physical well-being.

Dr Asyia Kazmi, Chief Executive Officer of WISE highlighted the award aims to assist institutions capable of turning novel ideas into tangible solutions that can bring about system change in education and scale up.

WISE Director of Innovation, Aurelio Amaral, said the programme places an emphasis on well-advanced institutions with promising pilot projects, indicating that the technical assistance will assist participants in developing sustainable plans for future growth across different geographical and cultural contexts.

All proposals will be evaluated in a multi-stage process that kicks off with an eligibility screening, followed by assessments from experts and innovation race that gauges how adaptable a solution would be to real world conditions, before the competition advances to the final development phase in 2027.

Since the launch of the WISE Prize for Education in 2009, we have recognized over 100 innovative solutions and global education leaders across all corners of the world, evolving from a recognition program to an all-encompassing initiative that supports evidence-based solutions on an international scale.

The new WISE Prize for Education cycle highlights Qatar’s continued commitment to empowering innovation and excellence in global education. Stay tuned with qatar day news today.